Reminders and Updates

Asalaamu'alykum Dear Parents,

An update from last week.

Spelling: As per usual, on Thursday students wrote their spelling test followed by the next lesson on long "o" vowels sounds in their spelling books. The words for next week's spelling test (Thursday, December 1st) are: those, low, goat, own, coat, go, hope, sold, over and ago.

BONUS: Length, width, height, nineteenth and twentieth.

Language: We learned all about adjectives using a show and tell activity called the mystery bag. I placed an object in a paper bag and I gave them clues, describing words (adjectives) to help them figure out the object. We discussed what adjectives are then played the mystery bag game a couple more times. Students worked independently on related worksheets. They also started writing in their journals using complete sentences, parts of speech (grammar) and proper punctuation.

Math: Linear measurement is the new unit we've been exploring since last week. As an introduction (and to help develop their measurement vocabulary) we discussed the different ways in which we use measurements in our day to day lives. For instance comparing two towers by height, determining the weight of two objects by holding each in one hand, the duration of an event from beginning to end (time), the greatest amount a container can hold (capacity), having a sense of temperature/a thermometer measures temperature etc. We also discussed which units, both standard and non-standard, can be used to measure the length, width or height of an object.

Science: I read a non-fiction book about reptiles to students. They learned that there are a few types of reptiles: turtles, snakes, lizards, crocodilians. We also learned about their different but unique characteristics such as they are vertebrates, cold-blooded, breathe with their lungs, shed their old skin in order to grow, have dry scaly skin and their eggs have leathery shells. Then independently they worked on a package of different activities relating to reptiles.

Islamic Studies: We're still in the process of compiling our wudu' folders.

Reminders:

-Homework packs are due Thursday, December 1st.

-Please encourage your children to read on RazKids for 20 mins everyday

-Also remind your child to return library books

-Marked homework packs, tests and pop quizzes will be sent home in the coming week inshaAllah

Message from Tr.Hoda

Assalamu alaikum respected parents

Grade 2 learned a lesson related to letter "ب" new words and shapes of the letter with tashkeel tanween moddood , they continued the theme related to family members in reading small sentences and understanding their meaning, then writing them neatly on in their note books.

They had an activity to connect the word to the picture and reading test for what they practiced.

Our new lesson will be related to letter "ت" . 

Insha'Allah during this week I'll be sending homework sheets, please encourage your child to read to you what he/she learned in class.

Please if you have any question do not hesitate to send me an email.

Jazakum Allahu Khairan

T. Hoda Harb

Updates, updates!

Aasalaamu’alykum Dear Parents,

Below is a brief update from last week.

Language: Author’s purpose is something new that we learned last week. It’s also referred to as PIE (persuade, inform and entertain) i.e. the reasons why an author chooses to write. After reading a story from the Magic School Bus series, students had to ask themselves certain question about the text to figure out the purpose. They looked for clues in the story for eg: did the author try to change their opinion, convince them of something. If so, then the author’s purpose was to persuade. Did the author give them facts or try to teach them something? If so, the purpose was to inform. Did the author try to make them laugh or simply tell a story. If so, then the author’s purpose was to entertain.

Spelling: As planned, students wrote their spelling test on Thursday and moved on with the next spelling lesson on long “u” vowel sounds in their workbooks. The spelling words for the next test on Thursday November 24^th are: rule, use, tune, mule, due, true, grew, few, you and cute.

Bonus: pictograph, purpose, shark, seventeenth and eighteenth

Islamic Studies: Wudu’, a means of purification before standing in salah, was covered last week. Students were reminded that in order to thank, praise and worship Allah (swt) in salah it is important to perform proper ablution first. We learned the steps of making wudu’ from a video shared in class. Students then read about it in their Islamic textbooks and completed exercises in their activity books. We touched upon the origins of wudu as well. How the Prophet (saw) was visited by Jibreel (as) and was flown from his house in Mecca to Jerusalem, mounted on al buraq which travelled at the speed of light. He (saw) ascended to the heavens and it was there that the prayer was established and made compulsory. Students also made a step-by-step wudu’ guide. The sole purpose of this assignment was to assist and develop the basic rules and action of ablution. And to further develop their knowledge of it.

Math: In preparation for their data management test, all week students worked independently on a math package practicing how to interpret and create bar graphs and pictographs.

Science: We wrapped up our lesson about fish. Students worked independently on an animal profile, specifically the Great White Shark. After watching a kids discovery video on the great whites and reading about them, students wrote a neat description using complete sentences and proper punctuation.

Health and Gym: Students worked on a ‘food groups’ worksheet where they were required to list all the food items in the appropriate food group. For gym we worked on developing good sportsmanship by playing games such as meet in the middle, the wheelbarrow race, streets and alleys and triangle tag.

Reminders:

RazKids- please encourage your child to read on RazKids 20 mins every day.

Library books- please remind your child to return any library books that may be due.

Updates and Reminders

Asalaamu’alykum Dear Parents,

Lots was accomplished last week alhumdulilah.

Language: We played a whole-group game called 4Corners. In each corner of the classroom there hung a sentence banner (declarative, imperative, exclamation and interrogative). Students chose a corner in which to stand. As I read out a sentence to them they identified the type and if it was designated by their corner they immediately sat down. Students who got it right all the way through the end received the most stickers and earned the Sentence Champ title! The next fun thing we focused on was an active learning strategy. I did a call and response chant with them. As I called out the 4 different types of sentences I had all students repeat them and do a corresponding movement. It really helped increase their engagement. Finally, on Friday they wrote a pop quiz on the 4 types of sentences.

Spelling: They wrote their spelling test on Thursday, learned about the long “I” vowel sound and completed a few exercises in their workbooks. The words for next week’s spelling test (November 17^th) are: wide, mile, line, hide, fire, nice, fine, mind, find and behind.

BONUS: Survey, axis, data, fifteenth and sixteenth

Science: We studied the great white shark! It was fascinating to learn about the facts. Students familiarized themselves with great white sharks’ habitat, their skeleton structure, their favourite prey, their speed, significance of dorsal fins, their dangerously serrated teeth, their important role in the oceans and where they thrive. We also discussed the differences Between big fish and small fish. They worked independently on a related activity. The great white shark is an on-going study which will be completed by next week inshaAllah.

Math: We worked hard all week to perfect our graphing skills. Students practiced creating bar graphs in groups and accurately interpreted them. Individually they made their own bar graph booklets. They created a survey question of their own interest (favourite sport team, favourite season, favourite places to visit etc), made a tally chart and collected first-hand data by asking at least 11 of their peers. After tallying, they constructed and labeled a bar graph derived from their data and properly identified the different parts of a graph (aka TAILS). Once completed they formulated 3 questions that their graphs could help them answer. On Friday students were introduced to pictographs which is also a graph that organizes and shows information using pictures. We watched a video to help make the concept clearer and worked on related activities individually.

Islamic Studies: We read a new chapter in our textbooks called The Shining Treasures (i.e. Qur’an and hadith). It was about how the qur’an was revealed, to whom it was revealed, from whom did Prophet Muhammad (saw) learn it, in which language it was revealed, what is hadith etc. Students read aloud the story of a boy named Zaid who learns from his parents that one can derive a lot of lessons from the qur’an and hadith. Learning both qur’an and hadith is not enough though because practicing it in our everyday lives, sharing it and teaching it to others is very important as well.  

Health/Gym: The 4 food groups dairy, fruits/vegetables, grains and protein were re-introduced to students last week during both gym classes. We went over the importance of eating right as Allah (swt) mentions to eat from what is halal and tayyib (pure and good). We went into a little bit more depth about the portions of each food group we should be consuming on a daily basis and how a range of different foods from all groups provide our bodies with those essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals. For practice, all students worked on an activity where they drew and wrote about a proper wholesome well-balanced breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Social Studies: Picking up from the week before last, students worked on a community package in which they had to list as many things as they could in each box about their community such as buildings, grocery stores, favourite places, restaurants, employment and main streets. We reviewed who community helpers are and focused more on special people in our community whose job it is to help others in a special way like firefighters, doctors, dentists, pharmacists etc. For practice, they filled in a chart about some of these community helpers, what they wear, what tools they use and how they help the community. We also compared past communities to present communities for instance people in the past used wagons and horses to travel, now people use all sorts of transportation (planes, trains, cars etc). On the whole, the activity was thought-provoking which increased the effectiveness of learning.

Please encourage your children to read on RazKids for 20 minutes everyday

Also please note homework packs are due Monday, November 21^st not Thursday, November 17^th

 

JazakAllah khayr.

Updates and Reminders.

Asalaamu’alykum Dear Parents,

Last week was a busy but an informative one alhumdulilah.

Social Studies: We carried on with our lesson on communities. We particularly discussed our community, what it has to offer and the places we like to visit like libraries, recreation facilities, mosques, shopping centres, zoos etc. We then talked about how community helpers work to help the community. Students brainstormed various examples of community helpers such as firefighters, sanitation workers, paramedics, veterinarians, farmers etc. Afterwards we went over the three different types of communities and their characteristics: rural, suburban and urban areas.

Math: Data management is the new chapter we are now studying. In their math journals students started writing definitions related to bar graphs such as data, survey, tally chart and parts of a graph TAILS (Title, Axis, Interval, Labels, Scale). They surveyed 11 people in class by asking who writes with their left hand or right hand. After creating the bar graph based on the tally marks, they answered a series of questions about the information depicted in the graph.  It was a handy exercise which allowed them to collect data, record it, create a bar graph to share and compare the information more clearly.

Language: Mastering the 4 sentence varieties and punctuation was our goal this week. Students were given a two-page comic strip in which they had to make use of all types of sentences (exclamation, declarative, imperative and interrogative) with proper punctuation. It was a fun activity and they all did a wonderful job mashaAllah. For extra punctuation practice they worked on related worksheets.

Spelling: Students wrote their spelling test from lessons 1-5 on Friday. They learned about the long “a” vowel sound in lesson 6 and completed the exercises in their spelling books. The next spelling test will be Thursday, November 10^th inshaAllah. Students have already jotted down the words and bonus words in their agendas. 

Science: After completing their owl booklets, we started learning about our next vertebrate category: fish. They watched a video about the different parts of fish including gills, scales and fins.  Next week we will be delving into more detail about how different species of fish have adapted to their respective habitats. Students were also introduced to the concept of life cycle. 

Islamic Studies: A pop quiz was written on prophets Ibrahim (as) and Adam (as), the chapter: Allah Comes First and the promises of Allah and shaytan.   

Library Reminder: Please ensure your child returns their library books on time, especially those that are overdue.   

Reading: Please encourage your child to read on RazKids for 20 minutes every day.

Homework packs are due Thursday, November 10^th inshaAllah.